By Brandon Barr / fitness columnist
March 08, 2008 10:45 pm
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Alright, who has entered the group of quitters after promising themselves and/or someone that this is the year that you are sticking with it? I have seen a drop off of new members to the gym already. That is par for the course though. Very few have what it takes to keep trudging to the gym day after day, week after week, and so on. To those who have, way to go. You can stop reading now, because, I’m not after you today. For those of whom my previous word struck some sort of chord, today’s message is for you.
My first words to you would be, DO NOT QUIT. I know you don’t have the time, I know it is hard, I know you’re not seeing results fast enough, and I know that these are all weak excuses. Look, if exercise was easy and fun all the time, we would all have the bodies and health we’ve all wanted. You can beat yourself silly with the reasons that you’re not sticking with it, but, the main reason is you’re not ready to change from your old and bad habits. That is the real reason plain and simple. Something is just not clicking that you are doing the right thing by becoming more physically active. Whatever you say, whatever the reason, you’re probably falling off the exercise wagon because that’s what just about everyone usually does. Let me say this, it’s a lifetime process, not a few weeks or even a few month fad. You have to stick to it even through the slow times. It’s all fun when you’re seeing great strides made, but it’s not the activities fault that you might not be losing weight. This is the time when you have to examine yourself and be honest about your regiment.
Honesty is the best policy when it comes to fitness. Ask yourself a few questions. Am I doing enough cardiovascular exercise? Your cardio fitness needs to be at least 40 minutes or longer for optimal results. This time includes a warm up and a cool down period. The work phase of this time is where you achieve maximum calorie burn and where your heart rate needs to be somewhere in the range of 70-80 percent of maximum heart rate. Another good way to determine if you’ve done enough or worked hard enough is, if you don’t feel like you’ve done much, then you haven’t. There are times when a lighter intensity is needed for recovery, but get real, if you don’t work hard, you don’t see the results. Time and time again I see people start some type of cardio, and just when they are starting to feel the workout they stop. I want to say to them, you’re not dying; you’re just lazy so get back on that thing and do something. If the cardio portion of your workout seems to be your problem, the best solution is to find something you like and work to get better at it. Maybe you need to slow down a bit and go a little longer or maybe you need to put more intensity into the workout. Whatever the problem, find the fix and keep at it. Don’t keep quitting at everything you start and be that person who falls off the fitness wagon first.
Your next question should be, am I doing enough strength training, or should I be strength training? Yes, you should be, and if you are already, then the same principle applies as in the cardio portion of your workout. You probably need to be pushing yourself a little harder at this also. Like I said earlier, it’s not always easy, but playing around with the little hand weights and/or spending too much time sitting on the machines daydreaming is not a quality workout. The muscles respond to stress. They either get bigger, more toned, stronger, or all three. Depending on what kind of results you want, your training should be to target these results. Generally, you should feel like you’ve worked hard to be sure that you did work hard. Hard work equals results, period. Don’t spend the majority of your day picking around the weight room. Have an idea in your head or on paper about what you want to do for the day and then get it done. This is the most efficient way to get your workout done and have it done in a quality way.
The toughest question to be honest is; is my daily diet as good as it should or could be? I can answer that very quickly for 99.9 percent of, NO! Everyone is tempted by some sort of sweet or fatty food, or something that is totally horrible for our bodies. The truth of the matter is, unless you measure out your food, you really don’t know how many calories you are taking in. On top of that, if that intake is more that you are burning off in the gym or during exercise, then you are surely gaining weight. The dietary part of fitness is usually the hardest part to get right and stick with, but it can be done. Most of the time it’s as simple as making up your mind that you want to change, and then willing yourself to the ultimate goal. To keep yourself in check, either find a friend for accountability or keep a food journal to write down exactly what you are eating and keep track of it. You will be surprised at what you are putting in your mouth and how much. We like to lie to ourselves about what gluttons we actually are, but the size of our waists and the kind of food in our kitchens can always expose the truth.
Getting fit then staying there is a long, hard, and mostly frustrating road. It is not impossible though, so stay with it. Do whatever it takes to get to your ultimate goal. Whether it is smaller clothes, fewer trips to the doctor, a race, or a weight lifting goal, push through the hard times and reap the benefits of success.
God bless
Brandon
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